CH 76

(Ryo POV for the whole chapter)

6 years before the present.

“I found you! ≪Commander of the Mercenary Order of the Fog≫, Nasu Ryo!”

While I am having lunch by myself in the city, a man wearing Western-style armor with a hood and carrying a sword calls out to me.

His homicidal intention is evident in his eyes.

“I am in the middle of a meal, what business do you have with me?”

I check the dagger at my waist and grip it as if ready to draw it at any moment.

“Business? Isn’t that obvious…”

The man pulls out his sword.

His sword is etched with strange characters and is ornamented with skeletons. Furthermore, irrespective of whether it is composed of unique demonic material or not, it is enveloped in a mysterious air. This sword is apparently one of the so-called “demon swords”.

“All demons shall perish! Those who betray humanity shall perish! That is the teaching of Church of the Righteousness!”

The man is slashing at me vigorously. It seems that this man is one of the extremists of Church of the Righteousness.

He is, nevertheless, not only an extremist, but also a competent individual, and his sword is directed straight at my head.

Well,

Clash!

I intercept the man’s sword with my dagger while inwardly thinking, “If you’re going to target me anyway, don’t call out and aim for an assassination instead”.

“You… blocked it!?”

“Seriously. I am being underestimated.”

While leaping off the chair I was seated on, I deflect the enemy’s sword back.

And as I do so, I check the opponent’s face.

“Ah, your face is familiar to me from somewhere.”

The identity of the man who is attacking me is the same guy who was one of the individuals that defeated the Demon King, “Taoist Curse of the Enshrouded Spirit” three years ago and was hailed as a hero for his achievement. At that time, before the two of us could encounter each other, I found out that the people I had defeated were from Church of the Righteousness, so I only registered their faces and swiftly escaped.

“Hmm. So you are aware of me?”

“Yes. But you seem to be pretty hard-headed for taking no consideration regarding the inconvenience to the people around you as well as messing with the kin who are on the side of the humans.”

The surrounding humans had already fled at the same time we were drawing our respective weapons, and the commotion has already spread.

If anyone listens attentively, they can perceive a similar uproar developing elsewhere, so it is likely that Houki and the others are being entangled with this hero’s companions.

“Shut up! All demons will be slain by me with my ‘Spiritual Sword’ made from the bones of the ‘Taoist Curse of the Enshrouded Spirit’!”

There is a peculiar light in the man’s eyes and sword. It is as if the man’s eyes have been “made to believe” that everything he is carrying out is right.

How should I put it? His sword is made from Demon King material. If my memory serves me right, the “Taoist Curse of the Enshrouded Spirit” is an undead type Demon King, so it has the attribute of darkness. Moreover, it probably harbors the grudge of the “Taoist Curse of the Enshrouded Spirit”. A vendetta that strives to impose destruction on all living beings.

“Ah. So, the sword has possessed you, and combined with the doctrine you believe in, this is what you’ve ended up to be?”

“What are you… sAYYYYiiiiinnnnggg…?”

Oh, he’s out of luck. I don’t think he can be saved from this anymore. He’s been utterly enslaved. Even his eyes are out of focus.

“aNyWaY… DieeeeEEEEeeeee!!”

With his sword lifted, the man comes at me with great force. It would be risky to defend myself with a dagger this time as I had done previously. Therefore, I step to the right to evade the man’s sword.

And the moment the man’s sword passes by me and hit the ground, the ground rots away at once, starting where the sword has made contact with it. And that’s not all; the rotting ground progressively changes shape, eventually assuming a humanoid appearance.

You could call them as instant zombies. They would return to their prior state of being state after being exposed to sunlight, therefore their existence would be meaningless the instant they emerged from the ground.

However, the prospect of being struck by one of those entities is harrowing. Even the slightest scratch would likely result in death from decomposition of the whole body.

“yOu… evadeeedd… mEE huh… then next is ha ha…≪Double Slash≫!”

…! Even in this state, you can still exercise your skill?

As soon as the man turns around to look at me, he swings his sword and activates his skill at me.

≪Double Slash≫. It is a two consecutive attacks whose power and speed are heightened by skill correction. Although it may not sound spectacular, it is actually considered to be one of the excellent skills due to its small gap and high applicability.

When the first blow of the man’s ≪Double Slash≫ is swung from right to left, I dodge it by crouching down.

This is where the dreaded ≪Double Slash≫ comes into play. The guy has at least six viable assaults from this point on. To be specific, there are up, upper left, left, lower left, lower left, and another right after one rotation, and any of them will follow shortly.

And the man chooses to swing down from the top, probably to ensure that it will strike me, who is crouching down. However, crouching means bending the knees. In other words,

“Hmph!”

“Gaaaaaaaaaah!?”

I can leap forward, simultaneously avoiding the attack and inflicting a wound on my foe through the gap in his armor.

Then, when I land on the ground, I look at the spot where I was previously, but the ground has corroded there and something like a hand has sprouted. As I thought, it appears to be perilous to make direct contact with “Spiritual Sword”.

“Kill Kill Kill Kill Killlllllllll…”

As the man looks back at me, his mouth is foaming. There is no trace of sanity to be detected in his eyes.

“Ending his life promptly now would be salvation for him.”

While I mutter this and ready my weapon, the man also raises his sword and prepares it.

“Aha… ≪Twin Slash≫ yiiiiiiiii!!”

“Not good!? ≪Fog Cloak≫, ≪Mantle of Fog≫!”

With the power of ≪Twin Slash≫, the man lunges at me at a blinding speed. ≪Twin Slash≫ is a skill that, in exchange for discarding its power, greatly enhances the user’s speed to deliver an almost inevitable attack, but for the man’s “Spiritual Sword”, whether the attack power is high or low is of no concern. If there is even a scratch on my body, it is possible for my entire body to be decomposed from there.

That is why I fully deployed my ≪Fog Cloak≫ and then proceeded with ≪Mantle of Fog≫. After elevating my own evasive ability to the utmost limit, I jump to the side as if to hurl myself out of the way.

The tip of the man’s blade can be seen passing by the place where my head was just a second earlier. Then the man has already switched to the stance for his next skill, ≪Double Slash≫ and has begun to perform a side-cutting attack on me.

To counteract this, I leap up relying only on the strength of my right arm, whirl around in mid-air, and release ≪Mist Slap≫ against the man’s sword, who is shifting into a stance to raise his sword to deliver the second blow, and send “Spiritual Sword” flying out of his hand.

And then, I thrust the dagger into the neck of the man who is momentarily dazed.

“Gu… ga…”

Despite the man’s grunts, after landing on the ground, I twist the dagger and swing it to the side to make sure his breath ceases.

“Seriously… This is the worst lunch time I’ve ever experienced.”

After wiping off the blood on the dagger, I draw closer to the “Spiritual Sword” that I had flung aside.

Houki and the others are also rushing towards me. Considering their wounds are visible in various places, it seems that they were assaulted as well. As for Izumi, she is almost completely naked… completely naked…? Completely naked…!!

I wonder what on earth happened to her… I shall inquire about it later.

“Now, as for this, I suppose it’s only appropriate to destroy it.”

In a hurry, I pull my thoughts back to reality and glance at “Spiritual Sword”.

Following that, I thrust the dagger into the center of the “Spiritual Sword,” shattering it. From the “Spiritual Sword,” something black and evil can be seen rising up to the sky. Everything should be fine now.

I retrieve the remains of “Spiritual Sword” and leave the place, softly praying to the man who had assailed me.